When I saw that Wallows was set to play Merriweather Post Pavilion back in March, I couldn’t believe it. I remember the day their first single “Pleaser” was released back in 2017. I remember each subsequent single to come — everytime eagerly awaiting the next one.

The band formed in Southern California as teenagers in 2011, playing under the names “Feavor” and “The Narwhals,” before changing it to Wallows. The lineup consists of Dylan Minnette on guitar/vocals, Braeden Lemasters on guitar/vocals, and Cole Preston on drums. I discovered the band when Dylan Minnette posted about “Pleaser” as the first single on Instagram. I had been a follower of his since seeing the horror movie Don’t Breathe, which he starred in. Minnette is most famously known as Clay Jensen in the popular, yet controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

I saw them on their first tour ever as “Wallows” in 2018. They came to Union Stage and played to a crowd of about 350 people. After that show, I was hooked forever. I saw them sell-out venues like the 9:30 Club in May 2019, Rams Head Live in Baltimore in February 2020, and then The Anthem in June 2022.

Watching them grow from each single release and every tour filled me with a sense of pride. I, myself, felt responsible for their success. I felt a strong hold over the band because I was there first. I discovered them, which is in fact, not true, but rather a feeling of teenage exuberance. When the single “Are You Bored Yet?” off their debut album Nothing Happens (2019) blew up on TikTok, I knew I would never be seeing them at Union Stage again. The “well, I knew them before they were famous” entitlement doesn’t disappear when you go from seeing a band at Union Stage to Merriweather in the span of six years.

So now, here we are in 2024; Wallows are touring their third album Model playing amphitheaters and arenas all over the world, including Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 22.

Benee kicked off the show at Merriweather. The 24-year-old New Zealand singer-songwriter came out with a quirky, buoyant aura. Benee kept waving to people in the crowd; I’m assuming fans standing up in the seats and getting into the performance. She had crispy clean vocals that floated amongst the crowd. Benee performed a new song called “sad boiii” which felt extremely “Gen-Z.” I thought “Green Honda” was really fun live, and I wish more of her songs had the same drive and power as that one. Benee ended her set with “supaloney,” a TikTok viral sensation that you couldn’t avoid during 2019-2021. My friend turned to me and said “this song feels like I should be baking banana bread during lockdown.”

Watch the official music video for “Green Honda” by Benee on YouTube:

Wallows opened with a shortened version of “Do Not Wait” off of Nothing Happens (2019). They performed it behind a curtain with only their silhouettes visible to the audience. The curtain dropped and they abruptly transitioned into “Your Apartment,” the lead single off of Model (2024). Next, they performed “Anytime, Always” also from Model. For their third song, Wallows performed “Scrawny,” one of my absolute favorites with punchy guitars and self-deprecating lyrics.

I settled back into my seat just in time for “Quarterback,” a song where drummer, Cole Preston, switches with guitarist/vocalist, Dylan Minnette. “Bad Dream” is a, for lack of a better word, dreamy, single featuring Braeden Lemasters’s crooning vocals. During “You (Show Me Where My Days Went)” Minnette proclaimed, “It’s you, Merriweather,” which got the crowd screaming. “At The End of The Day” is a stand-out off of Tell Me That It’s Over (2022), highlighting MGMT-like synths and vocals.

Watch the official music video for “You (Show Me Where My Days Went)” by Wallows on YouTube:

“She’s An Actress” had Dylan Minnette traversing the crowded pit to get to the “B-Stage” at the soundboard. The only way I could locate him was from the amount of phone screens. Braeden and Cole joined at the B-Stage for a more laid-back, acoustic set. They performed “Pictures of Girls” from Spring EP (2018), “Drunk on Halloween” (2018), and “Only Friend” (2019). When I saw Wallows the first time, “Pictures of Girls” had just been released, so that single has a special place in my heart. “Drunk on Halloween” is a one-off single from 2018 that I wholly did not expect, and “Only Friend” replaced what I expected to be “Treacherous Doctor” in the set. Regardless, I was happy to hear some “old” songs.

Braeden Lemasters had his moment in the crowd for “Worlds Apart,” which I’ve never heard performed live, and I thought was a random addition to the set. He seemed to lose sight of the stage, and somehow ended up in the lawn section. When Lemasters safely returned to the stage he remarked, “Thank you for the popcorn,” laughing off his wayward journey.

Wallows performed their mega-hit “Are You Bored Yet?” in the encore, and concluded with “Only Ecstasy” from Model. Although I loved their set, I strongly felt that “I’m Full” was missing. It’s a staple song of theirs, which has been performed even before they were “Wallows.” Its distorted guitars and infectious riffs makes it my all-time favorite. At the 2022 Anthem show, they took a request from the crowd for the first encore song, and I screamed “I’M FULL” as loud as I humanly could. My request was granted, and it’s one of my top concert moments in recent memory.

In the ranking of Wallows concerts I’ve attended, nothing beats the first experience. There’s nothing better than seeing a band in a tiny space. I think that Wallows did well commanding a larger space, but there’s definitely room to grow. While I hope they go back to playing mid-size clubs/theaters, I could not be more excited and proud to watch them flourish.

Catch Wallows on tour near you!

Here are some photos of Benee opening Wallows at Merriweather Post Pavilion. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Carolin Harvey.

Here are some photos of Wallows headlining Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 22, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Carolin Harvey.